Saint Leo Unveils Unique New Digs

SAINT LEO, Fla. - Excitement was all around the
Saint Leo University (SLU) men’s and women’s lacrosse
teams Sept. 24.

That was when the Lions got to experience their
new artificial turf game and practice field, but the thrill was for
more than just for the surface.

Along with new seating for fans, a press box and
scoreboard was the fact that they were playing on a field 10 feet
above the ground.

The field sits on top of a new parking garage on
the east side of the campus near the gym.

“Everyone was really psyched,” said
Matt Obermeyer, junior attacker for the men’s team.
“Not only is the field awesome, but it’s on top of the
parking garage. It’s like the main exhibit of our campus.
Everyone drives by it, and they see it’s brand new with all
kinds of cool stuff.”

Obermeyer’s teammate Robert Hutchinson, a
junior midfielder, added, “We literally could not wait.
We’ve been waiting for the last three weeks for them to
approve it for us to practice on.”

SLU athletic director Francis Reidy said talk of
adding the garage with the field started several years ago because
they were “parking challenged” on campus. He added,
combining the two into one allows for 740 new places for vehicles
while giving the lacrosse programs new facilities in the same
space.

Women’s lacrosse coach Lesley Graham said
she originally envisioned a field on a 10-story building.

“I was thinking what if I have kids who are
afraid of heights,” Graham said. “I got really nervous,
but when I saw the plans I realized it was going to be a phenomenal
thing.”

Graham’s team got the first crack on the
field during a conditioning session Sept. 24.

“I think we had about 10 different tweets
sent out around 6 a.m. before our 7 o’clock conditioning
practice,” Graham said. “They were so excited to get
out here, and they’re really proud of the facility. They want
to do it justice, play hard and show everybody we’re a force
to be reckoned with and that we deserve this first-class
facility.”

Brad Jorgensen, the only men’s lacrosse
coach in the program’s eight-year history, and his players
had the first official practice on the field that afternoon. He
said such fields aren’t unheard of, especially with schools
that don’t have a lot of land available, but they are
uncommon.

Jorgensen said the biggest thing about the field
is they won’t have to worry about it being torn up by overuse
or destroyed by weather.

“We beat up grass,” Jorgensen said.
“Just the nature of our sport is not kind to grass. Even the
best lacrosse facilities that are on grass show wear and tear by
the end of the season. I think long term not having to deal with
resodding and filling in holes is really going to help us
out.”

Hutchinson, who lives across a small street from
the field at Roderick Hall, said the field’s regularity will
be a big benefit.

“At some point you get divots and bad parts
from it getting torn up where things aren’t
consistent,” Hutchinson said. “We don’t have that
now. It’s also going to help with recruiting. When you have a
brand new field it’s hard to complain about anything.
It’s pretty much perfect.”

Jorgensen pointed out they won’t have to
worry about the lines on the turf fading as quickly as it does on
grass.

“It’s amazing to be able to walk right
out of the office to a facility that we know is the right length
and is lined properly,” Jorgensen said. “I told my wife
it’s a lot like having a maid cleaning your house all day,
and when you come home everything is perfect.”

Obermeyer said all the players feel lucky to have
the new field.

“Not a lot of the guys have gotten to play
on turf before,” Obermeyer said. “Most colleges
can’t afford it, so we’re lucky to have this to fly
around on.”

Graham was especially thrilled because her program
is entering its second season this spring.

“Being the new team on the block, having
such a top-notch facility is unbelievable,” Graham said.
“We couldn’t ask for a better facility. We’re
definitely feeling the love.”

The surface is able to have two fields for intramural sports
running perpendicular to the game field. Reidy said he envisions
things like football, soccer, lacrosse, ultimate Frisbee, kickball
and other activities being played.

“It’s a constant challenge as you get
larger to continue to improve the facilities,” Reidy said.
“We want to give the student-athletes and the entire student
body green places to play.”

The field is just one of several improvements SLU
has recently made to its athletic facilities.

A new gym floor was completed a little more than a
month ago, which replaced one that was 42 years old. The soccer
field had more than $1 million invested to improve the drainage and
install new grass, according to Reidy. The athletic director said
they are also building two fields on the northeast corner of the
campus.

“Now our soccer coach can have a big summer
camp, where as last year we had just one field,” said Reidy,
who added the two fields should be completed by spring.
“It’s also more places to have intramural
sports.”

Obermeyer said the excitement around the athletic
programs is sky high.

“Morale is way up, and I think it’s
going to have more people come watch us,” Obermeyer said.
“We’ve got the new gym, so people are going to go to
the volleyball and basketball games. Same with us. People are going
to want to come see the new field and see the lacrosse
teams.”